Objects such as automotive parts are routinely transported in commerce from supplier to manufacturer or distributor. In order to minimize costs and reduce overhead it is desirable to transport as many objects as possible within a confined space such as a trailer or railcar. Additional benefits include fuel savings and related reduction in pollution from the ability to transport an increased number of objects per given volume of fuel consumed.
One apparatus utilized as a steering wheel storage rack stacks the steering wheels on vertical spindles which pass through the center orifice of the wheel, resulting in the storage of the wheels in parallel horizontal planes. The advent of the air bag assembly incorporated into the center of the steering wheel has made this method of storage obsolete.
Yet another storage rack employs a metal frame with a plurality of vertically arranged, pivotal shelves. Each shelf supports two pairs of spaced, article support members formed of molded urethane foam or E.V.A. with spaced notches sized to receive a peripheral portion of each steering wheel. The notches are offset in two article support members to nest each steering wheel in each row vertically between portions of steering wheels in adjacent top and bottom rows.
Another steering wheel rack utilizes a square wood stud with four notched racks of cellular polyethylene mounted by means of adhesive on the four sides of the stud. The ends of the racks are mounted in supports attached to the inner sides of a container in a vertically and horizontally spaced matrix arrangement of rows and layers. The notches in the racks are offset from end to end to nest the steering wheels in horizontal rows.
A two-piece plastic dunnage is disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,534, for use within containers for shipping or storing items in a preselected arrangement within a container. The preferred embodiment of the two-piece dunnage designed in accordance with this invention includes an essentially flat base member and a generally U-shaped support member that is slidably and removably coupled with the base member in a supporting position. The support member may be provided with a plurality of transverse slots which are adapted to nestingly receive at least a portion of the items that are to be maintained within the container in the preselected arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,866 describes a carton liner fabricated from a paperboard strip deformed so that triangular projections of two different sizes extend inwardly from the interior wall of a carton. The larger triangular sections include slots formed centrally within each apex edge for accommodating a platelike article having its edges disposed within the aligned slots. The smaller triangular projections provide lateral support for the article retained within the slots.
Yet another article transport and storage device, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,718 (issued to Oslin et al.), utilizes a article support means for supporting the peripheral surfaces of a plurality of articles. The article support means includes a tubular member having at least a two side surfaces. Preferably the tubular member is a hollow, extrusion. A rack carries the plurality of notches. Mounting means are provided for mounting each rack to one of the side surfaces of the tubular member. In a preferred embodiment, the mounting means comprises inward extending flanges formed on the side surfaces of the tubular member and defining an open ended slot which receive side slots formed on the bottom of each rack. The racks are arranged in a reversed 180 degree orientation with respect to each other on two side surfaces of the tubular member. In particular, a plurality of article support means are utilized within a container so that the articles may be contained and shipped in a nested manner, in which the articles are arranged in horizontal and vertical rows and are nested in two dimensions, i.e., horizontally and vertically, to increase the number of articles which can be stored in a single container.
More specifically, and with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,718, and as depicted in FIGS. 1-4 in the present application, labeled as PRIOR ART, there is depicted one embodiment of an article transport and storage apparatus 10 which is devised for storing and transporting articles in a container 12. The article support apparatus 10 of the present invention is devised to be mounted in a container 12. Any container having any dimensions may be employed with the article transport apparatus 10 of the present invention. However, it is preferred that the container 12 be one having pivotal sides, such as a container sold under the trademark Ropak. As is known, such a container has pivotal sides which are hinged approximately ⅓ up from the bottom of the container. Latches are provided on the hinged portions of the side walls of the container to enable the side walls to be latched in a vertical use position forming a generally square or rectangular interior cavity within the container as well as enabling the hinged side wall portions to be dropped into a general horizontal, overlapped arrangement within the container for storage or transport back to the manufacturing facility wherein the overall height of the container is reduced to less than ½ of its article storage height.
As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the base assembly 14 has a planar bottom wall 20 and a pair of upstanding side walls 22 and 24. The side walls 22 and 24 are formed by folding over opposed end portions of the bottom wall 20 into two, spaced walls which are perpendicularly oriented with respect to the bottom wall 20. A substantially rigid nine pound density polyethylene foam strip 26 is mounted interiorly within each of the pair of spaced walls forming the side walls 22 and 24 for rigidity. Cable ties 28 extend through apertures in each side walls 22 and 24 and the foam strip 26 to secure each side wall 22 and 24 and the intervening foam strip 26 in the desired position with respect to the bottom wall 20.
A plurality of apertures 30 are formed at least partially and, preferably, completely through the wall portions of each side wall 22 and 24 as well as the intermediate foam strip 26. Although any shaped aperture 30 may be employed, in the preferred embodiment, each aperture 30 has a square cross-section disposed in the orientation shown in FIG. 1 for receiving the base article support means 16 and 18 therein, as described hereafter.
The base 14 is formed, by example only, of a plastic corrugated material, such as corrugated polyethylene or polypropylene. Other lightweight materials having the requisite strength may also be employed to form the base 14.
A center support 32 is fixedly mounted, such as by adhesive or screw fasteners, not shown, to the bottom wall 20 of the base 14 generally centrally between the opposed side walls 22 and 24. The central support 32 is preferably formed of a nine pound density polyethylene foam. A plurality of generally V-shaped notches 34 are formed along the length of the center support 32 and are aligned with the apertures 30 in the side walls 22 and 24 for supporting one of the base article support means 16 and 18 therein.
As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, each base article support means 16 and 18 includes a centrally disposed tubular member 40. Preferably, the tubular member 40 is hollow and has a generally square cross-section formed of four joined side walls 42. A pair of inverted, upstanding, L-shaped flanges 44 project from the corners of the tubular member 40 and form open notches 46 adjacent each wall 42.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, first and second ends 39 and 41 of each article support means 16 and 18 project outwardly from the adjacent ends 52 and 54 of the racks 50B and 50A, respectively. The first and second ends 39 and 41 of each tubular member 40 in each article support means 16 and 18 are inserted into the apertures 30 in the side walls 22 and 24 to enable the article support means 16 and 18 to be supported by the side walls 22 and 24 of the base 14. In the base assembly 14, two of the notches 46 in the tubular member 40 receive a pair of individual racks 50A and 50B.
Due to the different mounting positions of the racks 50A and 50B, relative to one another, on the article support means 16 and 18 and the alternating mounting of the article support means 16 and 18 across one dimension of the base 14, the notches 56A in each pair of article support means 16 and 18 as well as the notches 56B in opposed pairs of article support means 16 and 18 are laterally aligned with like notches 56A or 56B to receive one article, such as the peripheral rim or edge of a steering wheel. Further, each pair of similar, opposed notches 56A and 56B are longitudinally offset along the other dimension of the base 14 to offset and nest two adjacent articles in two adjacent rows.
This offset or staggered arrangement of the steering wheels 66 in the three rows formed by the two pair of article support means 16 and 18 on the base 14. Due to the closer spacing of the notches 56A in the center row to the side wall 22 than the adjacent pair of notches 56B in the two adjacent rows, steering wheel 66 when mounted in notches 56A in the center row on the base 14, will be disposed closer to the side wall 22 of the base 14 than the steering wheels 66 in the two adjacent rows. This nests the peripheral edge or rim 68 of the steering wheel 66 in the center row in a horizontal, overlapped or nested manner with the rims 68 of the laterally adjacent steering wheel 66 in the two outer rows.
Similar to the device disclosed in '718 (Oslin et al.), it would be desirable to provide further improvements to an article storage apparatus, such as storage apparatus devised for storing and transporting steering wheels from a steering wheel manufacturing facility to the installation plant. It would also be desirable to provide such an article storage apparatus which is constructed of a minimal amount number of different components. It would also be desirable to provide such an article storage apparatus which is durable for long term reuse. It would also be desirable to provide such an article storage apparatus in which the article storage racks are formed of a material resistant to dirt while at the same time being compatible with a Class A article surface. As such, the present invention fulfills the objectives above, and also provides a device that is more easily assembled than that disclosed in '718 (Oslin et al.) by utilizing a device that requires no central tubular member as a spine for attachment of the article support means. Thus, the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.